Even though it's a week late, this photo captures Daniel at nine months: smiling, clapping, forehead bruise, food-stained shirt, pants popping, and barefoot (better traction for learning to walk.) Yes, I finally broke down and put the walker in the upright position and he's been charging around ever since. He still forgets sometimes that he has to move both of his feet or that he has to hold on. He is also learning to wave and likes to turn to wave after he has walked past me. That sometimes causes a balance problem. (See video below.)

At his official weigh-in and check up yesterday, he tipped the scales at 23.3 pounds and measured 29 inches, 87th and 77th percentiles, respectively. His head is creeping up there at 18 inches, 69th percentile.

Sadly, his rapid expansion means he pretty much missed the opportunity to wear these green overalls, my favorites. By the time it was cool enough to wear them late last month, he was popping the crotch snaps at every move. He is close to outgrowing most of the 12-month wardrobe his brother accumulated.

In other news, it seems that the construction phase of our new house transition is now complete. The final coat of paint went on the living room ceiling this morning as we closed the three-day project that morphed into seven weeks. This eliminates our final excuses for the boxes that remain packed in the living room and library so that may be a weekend project. Maybe we'll also get some pictures hung on the walls!